The Minnesota Wild have tough decisions to make ahead of the March 3 trade deadline. The next 10 days will see the franchise try to balance the need to win now with the preservation of its dwindling stockpile of draft and prospect capital.
Rather rudely, Charlie Stramel is not making those choices any easier.
The Wild presumably want to keep young center Danila Yurov around if possible, especially after trading a fellow young center, Marco Rossi, for Quinn Hughes. It would be very difficult for the club to part with Jesper Wallstedt, who has had stretches where he’s looked like the league’s best young goalie. That left Stramel, their 2023 first-round pick, as the ideal concession to make for an upgrade. It’d hurt to give up the big, right-shot center, of course, but you gotta give to get.
But if the Wild are dangling Stramel to the wider NHL, it’s not coming without Stramel having a lot to say about it. On Thursday — four days before the Olympic trade freeze lifts — Stramel had a big game against Notre Dame, scoring a goal and an assist as his Michigan State Spartans won 4-2. The night extended his goal streak to four games, and his point streak to six.
Overall, Stramel is seventh in the NCAA with 19 goals and sixth with 40 points. He’s the first 40-point forward of any collegiate Wild draftee since Erik Haula in 2012-13. Last year, Stramel was the running mate of Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard. This year, he’s the one stirring the drink in East Lansing.
His rapidly-rising star makes the decision of whether to trade him or not — or perhaps even the choice between him and Yurov — much more complicated. At the same time, it also makes the trade deadline a no-lose situation.
At this point, Stramel has to be considered a blue-chip prospect. His numbers in college are rock-solid, even accounting for the fact that Stramel is in his senior season. But let’s not forget what got him in the first round in the first place, the fact that he’s a big, fast, skilled, right-shot centerman.
Those players might grow like trees, but they certainly don’t grow on trees. In fact, there are only six right-shot centers in the NHL who are 1) 6-foot-3 or taller and 2) Average over a half-point per game. They are Mark Scheifele, Tage Thompson, Morgan Geekie, Drake Batherson, Dylan Cozens, and Shane Pinto. If you want to lower that threshold to a third-of-a-point per game, you can add in Cody Glass, Nicolas Roy, and Wild Legend Oskar Sundqvist.
Put another way: There are a half-dozen of them you can credibly play in your top-six, and fewer than 10 you can credibly play in your top-nine.
Forget everything you may have thought about Stramel on draft night or during his stint with the Wisconsin Badgers. GMs will want this player. They’ll be happy to have Stramel back for almost any player they’d be selling at the deadline. Stramel peaking his stock at this time is incredibly good timing for Minnesota.
Stramel’s trajectory also helps the Wild if they hold pat at the deadline, or have to part with Yurov to swing a Robert Thomas-esque blockbuster. Minnesota’s caution with putting NCAA prospects into a playoff lineup probably means Stramel won’t contribute this spring, but he could be ready to make a Yurov-like contribution next year. His NHL-readiness means that Stramel’s value will hold over the summer and well into next season.
Or, if Yurov is out, and Thomas (or someone equivalent) comes in, the Wild would have a legit top-line center skating with Kirill Kaprizov, plus a big, strong, skilled pair of middle-six centers in Stramel and Joel Eriksson Ek. That would fulfill the Wild’s vision when they drafted Stramel almost three years ago.
It’s shaping up to be a no-lose situation. Either the Wild sell Stramel at the peak of his value (so far), or they’ll have a unicorn of a player who looks ready to contribute next season. Stramel might be adding another variable to Minnesota’s trade deadline calculus. Still, it’s hard to imagine having a better problem to have during this incredibly crucial time for the franchise.
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